Council discusses stray cats and dogs at large

The Moulton City Council discussed feral and stray cats at large within the city limits at the Aug. 13 meeting.

“There seems to be a huge problem with this,” City Administrator LuAnn Rogers said. “Some of these cats have a disease called Parvo. We’re pretty concerned about that because Parvo is extremely contagious and is normally deadly."

The Parvovirus, also known as Panleukopenia or Feline Distemper, is a virus that causes diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. It is most common in kittens, according to WebMD. It is passed through in the soil that the diseased cats urinate or desecrate on.

"We’ve been having other pet owners of cats report that their cats are dying and their cats are not feral,” Rogers said. “It’s a strong possibility that some of the domesticated cats have been in the area that the feral cats are in. If you do have domesticated cats, you may want to keep a close eye on it because Parvo can spread fast and by the time the pet owner realizes it, it may be too late to save that animal. We do have an ordinance in town regarding animals, but all we can do with feral cats is trap them and have them euthanized. We don’t have any medical facilities to help some of these diseased cats.”

The council also discussed stray dogs running at large. No action as of this time was taken on that.

An interlocal cooperation agreement between the City of Moulton and the Moulton Independent School District for the School Resource Officer was also approved.

“Norma Pritchard is our SRO, and she has been for the last year,” Rogers said. “The school district pays the salary, and the city pays for the benefits for that employee including their insurance and retirement. They are also an employee of the city, but they are just assigned for the school as their workplace. When school is out, Pritchard does normal patrol for the city.”

The city also approved a new policy within the Moulton Police Department from the state.

“This basically pertained to both medical and psychological exams,” Rogers said.

The Moulton Police Department report showed that there was a total of 189 service calls and 31 traffic contacts were made. Two citations were issued while 29 warnings were given.

The report also showed that both Officer Bill Teich and Greg Proske had left the MPD. Teich left MPD to serve on the Yoakum Police Department. Irene Hernandez was hired to replace Teich and William Colburn replaced Proske. MPD also picked up several dogs over the past month.

“I am proud to say that we were able to find homes for them,” Police Chief Daniel Beyer said in his report. “This was due to the tireless work of your officers not wanting to see them euthanized.”

In the report, Beyer stated that he attended the Lavaca County Law Enforcement Committee meeting at the Lavaca County Courthouse.

“We have a lot of exciting things ahead,” Beyer said. “I will keep the council posted as they develop.”

Other items on the agenda include:

• Council approved a submission for the replat of a property located at 202 West Jackson St.

• The Council discussed water notices for the public, but no action was taken on this.

• Council continued its ongoing discussion on applying for grant opportunities regarding park improvements. They are still researching Texas Parks and Wildlife Grants and are accepting donations. Council aims to potentially improve the tennis court area and possibly turn that into a basketball court. They also want to look at improving access for handicapped individuals. No action was taken on this item.